Crossroads of Destiny
by dreamer921618
Summary: Zuko Black is the son if the richest man in America. His dad owns all the malls in America. Katara isn't sure what to do she knows about how cruel his family is. But he is different than them.  So should she follow what others think or her heart?
1. New Friend

I walked slowly towards the imposing building, fear radiating from my newly washed pores. The Stauffer's Academy for Young People was one of the best schools in America and not only did you have to be rich, you had to be smart to get in. My brother and I was the only exception, seeing as we were the only two people out of 1000 to be on a scholarship. My name is Katara Ridge and my brother is Sokka. Our dad left for war about 5 years ago and has been fighting over seas ever since. We live with our mom and grandma (A/N I decided that they should keep their mom =]) in a small home 1 hour away from the school. It's a good thing the school is a boarding school or we would be late every single day.

I had just left tennis practice and was heading to the Foreign Languages building for my first day of conversational Spanish. A trio of girls stepped into my line of sight and stopped their designer shoe clad feet in front of me.

"Oh look," the raven haired one with pure gold eyes said. "Fresh meat. What are you doing here? You obviously can NOT afford to be here judging by your last season K-Mart jeans."

I looked up and a shockingly beautiful girl stood there, with two girls behind her; one had hair just as black as the one talking and the other had a thick light brown ponytail that reached the middle of her lower back. Nowhere near my calf length ponytail.

"Excuse me," I said before trying to step around her. A blue flame suddenly jumped from her hand and she put it in front of me. The look she gave me could've melted the ice block I so badly wanted to incase her in.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To my Spanish class." I all but whispered.

"Here that girls, she is gonna be in Spanish with us!" the brown haired girl said.

"Ty Lee shut up!" yelled the leader.

"S-sorry Azula." She said before flipping the ponytail over her shoulder and smiling a bright yet evil smile at me.

Suddenly a shadow came up behind me and a cocoa colored arm flew over my shoulder.

"Hey sis!" Are you ready? Good lets go!" Sokka said with way to much enthusiasm. I smiled at him, grateful for him coming over and continued my way with him to Spanish class. Sokka and I made it with a few minutes to spare and sat down in the seats we had only received yesterday. The class was pretty small seeing as how most people decided to take another language. But I was going to spend some time in Spain after I graduated so I thought that I would work on my Spanish.

The trio that bothered me walked in the class and walked to the back of the small room and sat at the only table with 3 chairs. The rest of the tables had 4 chairs.

Sokka and our good friend Aang sat down next to each other, Sokka on the end and Aang next to me. We talked about the time we went to Michigan and went to the apple cider press, Aang sneezed and since he is an airbender, that sneeze caused chucks of apple to fly onto the people working the presses. They weren't happy about that. We had a good laugh when the chair next to me was suddenly yanked out and a figure with jet-black hair sat down. His backpack dropped off the table and onto the ground causing his things to scatter. I leaned over to pick up the drawing pencil that rolled near my foot and started to return it to him when I made eye contact with him. His gold eyes were almost an exact copy of the girl named Azula who insulted my _Target _NOT K-Mart jeans.

I quickly handed him the pencil and turned to the teacher who had recently walked into the room.

"Thanks," a silky voice said.

"No problem, so you're an artist?" I asked calmly.

"Yeah, are you?" he replied. His gold eyes staring at me as if he were searching my soul.

"Yeah, but I do ceramics, not drawing."

"That's cool! Maybe I'll see you in class tomorrow. My dad had to talk to me so I missed it today." The boy said with a sad look on his face.

"Maybe, I'm Katara"

"Zuko," he said before sticking out his hand, I grabbed it and shook it.

I smiled and turned to the front of the room, trying to catch what Senora Mangrano was saying. She was a young woman with gorgeous caramel skin and waist length hair the color of amber.

"hola clase, esté preparado para una diversión, pero el año interesante" she said.

Sokka and Aang looked confused as she said that one sentence.

"Hey K!" Sokka stage whispered.

"What?" I hissed back.

"What does that mean?"

I slapped my hand to my forehead. This was going to be a long class.

The bell rang signaling the end of class and the end of the school day. I grabbed my books and started to leave when Zuko called my name.

I turned and waited for him to catch up to me.

"Hey, I was wondering if I could see some of the stuff you've done already. I know I just met you but I thought it would be kinda cool." He said.

I burst into a huge smile. No one had ever really wanted to see my pieces. I nodded and smiled again. Then my smile faded when IU saw Azula and her friends walking towards me and Zuko.

"Hey Zuzu! Remember we are eating with dad tonight!" she said.

"You are related to that?" I said to Zuko before I could stop myself.

Zuko burst out laughing and nodded. "Yeah, I know how you feel Katara. And yes Zulia I remembered."

I didn't notice the look of anger she had when I made my comment or the angrier she got when Zuko called her by her nickname. Suddenly the air around us got a lot warmer and Azula's eyes got a weird glint to them. Zuko must've recognized that glint because he grabbed my hand and started to run, pulling me with him.

After running for about 2 good minutes we stopped at the giant field behind the school. It was mostly used for sparring since it had a lake and was obviously made of earth. But at that moment it was being used as a safe haven for Zuko and me.

"I'm sorry for making you run like that, but she was about to try and burn you. Believe me I know," he said before pulling up his sleeve and showing me a horrid burn on his forearm.

"That's sick and cruel." I said softly.

"Yeah, that's my sister." He said just as soft.

A gentle wind blew, ruffling my hair and sending the thick pieces of jet black silk from his eyes. We sat in the silence for a bit before getting our things and heading back to the school. Hoping that what we just experienced wasn't the calm before the storm.


	2. One Side of the Story

We retuned to the school just as the dinner bell rang. I sighed and turned to walk away when Zuko started talking.

"Thanks for just being there I guess." He said with a nice smile playing on his face.

I grinned and gripped my books closer to my body. "No problem Zuko! So umm see you in ceramics tomorrow."

He gave me a smile and nodded. His sister and a tall man that Zuko looked exactly like (he doesn't have a scar yet) came walking towards us.

"Zuko, who is your friend?" the man asked, his voice sounding like silk. I normally would've been put at ease but his voice except for the fact that he was staring at me intently, and under the gaze of those golden eyes I felt uncomfortable.

"This is Katara, and we have a few classes together. Katara this is my dad, Mr. Black." I smiled nicely and felt that smile fade when his father appraised me yet again with his eyes. A cool and collected smile played across his features.

"She and her brother are new to this campus so I was just showing her around, and she was about to go because of dinner." Zuko said.

I nodded and squeaked out what could've been a goodbye and walked away, still feeling his father's gaze on me.

I walked to my dorm and deposited my books, and then made my way to the lunch wing. The board outside the door informed me that we were to have ___mostacolli_ with garlic bread for dinner and apple and cranberry pie for desert.

I got my meal and walked over to the table that Sokka and Aang were sitting at. A small girl with eyes the color of grass and porcelain skin looked up at me. Her eyes were vivid yet clouded at the same time.

"Hi! You must be Katara, I'm Toph and I'm in most of Aang's classes."

"Hi Toph, that's a nice name! So umm-"

"Yeah I'm blind. It's okay though because I can see better than all of you put together, because I see with my earthbending! Epic right!" Toph said excitedly.

I laughed and immediately knew that I get along fine with the small girl. Sokka's face perked up as he looked at the door.

"What's up?" I asked.

"N-nothing." He said before turning back to his food. I didn't miss his bluish though.

I turned to where he was looking and saw a group of girls standing at the door with green vests and gold metal looking fans in there hands. One girl was exceptionally shorter than the rest but she exuded the look of a leader. I squinted and broke into a smile.

"Suki!" I yelled out. The girl locked eyes with me and squealed before rushing forward to give me a hug.

"Katara! Where have you been? I didn't know you went here!" she said excitedly.

"We were going to the Arizona campus before we moved. This place is really cold!" I said as we walked back to my table. The group of girls followed us and sat at the table next to us, caught up in their own dramatic stories.

Suki laughed, "You'll get used to it. How do you like it here so far?"

I told her about my day and how I was already on Azula's bad side.

"Ohh sorry, I wish I could've warned you. Not only is her dad über rich but he owns the malls and the school. But only the Chicago campus."

I sat there with my mouth wide open. Whoa I guess Zuko was richer than I thought. I sat there tuning out the rest of what Suki said as thought about Zuko. He didn't look to happy to see his dad or sister. I understand why he wouldn't want to be around that thing... Err person he is related to. But his dad, no matter how creepy the guy was, didn't seem to bad. I mean I had never heard anything bad about him and I kinda just assumed that he was like Zuko.

Suki had finally turned her attention from me and was focusing on Sokka… or rather flirting with Sokka. She played with a piece of her short brown hair and smiled at him, causing Sokka's cheeks to turn a cute pink color. I discreetly pulled out my phone and took a picture. _This will be some good blackmail. _I thought. Why is a picture of my brother blushing blackmail? Well he thinks blushing is girly and he is (as he says) a man. So this picture is quite helpful. =]

Aang and Toph seemed to really hit it off. Aang laughed at something Toph said causing her cheeks to stain a red color. I smiled and got up from the table, noticing that none of the people noticed.

I started walking to my dorm when I passed the art wing. I noticed that the art teacher was still there so decided to go over and say hi.

Todd Westcott was the art teacher and was extremely talented. He had recently graduated from an artist's college in northern New York. (A/N it's really a college for ceramics in Northern New York but I can't remember the name of it) 

"Hey Katara! How are you doing?" Mr. Westcott asked.

"I'm doing well I was actually wondering if I could work on my project some."

"Oh sure I'm going to be here for a while anyway so go right ahead." He said with a smile.

I got out my clay and all of my utensils. Then I got my actually project. It was going to be an eagle in a tree. But for now all I had was the tree and a drawing of an eagle. I plugged my iPod into the room's stereo system and smiled as Kings of Leon blasted through the speakers and quickly got lost in my project. Sculpting the branches and carefully carving the bark into the clay.

I got so involved that I didn't notice Zuko had come in until he sat down across from me and his pencil hit the table.

I looked up quickly and almost sliced my tree. Zuko stared at the tree like it was water and he had been in the desert for a week.

"That looks amazing! Psh I thought I was talented." He said before comer closer to inspect it more.

"I have been trying to tell her that but she is to self critical." Mr. Westcott said. His blue eyes shining from all the excitement.

I flushed from all the praise and looked at the tree. It was at least 2 feet tall with branches that sprung the trunk in a random pattern. I sighed and looked at the clock. It read 10:19. Lock-down would be at 11:00 because it was a school night and it would take me a while to clean up. So I sat my tree on the counter so that the next morning it would be leather hard. (A/N for those of you who don't know this just means that the clay has dried out a little and it hard enough for it not to bent to much but soft enough for you to carve or cut it.)

I cleaned up pretty quickly with the help of Mr. Westcott and watched in awe as Zuko drew something at lightening speed. We left the room and started the walk towards the dorms.

"What did you draw?" I asked.

"A picture of the two of you cleaning up." He said before flipping through his sketch book. He finally landed on a picture of me with a sponge wiping off a table with a smile on my face and Mr. Westcott putting away utensils, but he was laughing at some unknown joke.

"Whoa!" I said simply. "That's like whoa!"

He laughed softly and held the book out for me to take, "If you want you can look through it. I can get it back in ceramics."

I smiled and took it. "Thanks." I said just as we reached my dorm building. "Well see ya!" I said happily.

"See ya," he said with a calm excitement in his voice.

I walked through the halls and sighed contently when I reached my dorm. My roommate Jenny had already fallen asleep and was snoring softly.

I quickly changed into my pajamas and climbed in bed, turning on my bed stand light. I opened the first page and quickly fell into each drawing, wondering how a drawing could have so much emotion poured into it.

I flipped through the book for about 10 minutes before I felt my eyelids growing heavy. I closed the book and set it next to my lamp and turned the blinding light off.

As I closed my eyes, and saw one of his drawing behind my eyelids. It was a family picture; his father, a woman that had to be his mother and his sister, who looked civil and happy. The parents were hugging with huge smiles on their faces. Azula was sitting next to a massive Christmas tree playing with a doll. They looked like a happy family. But Zuko was missing. My eyes shot open and a thought popped in my head. Did Zuko feel that he wasn't a part of his family? I soon fell into a restless sleep, my dreams plagued by a family made of black pencil and the missing son who captured it all.


	3. Never As It Seems

"Aang you are cheating!" I yelled as he jumped off an air ball and evaded my water whip.

"No I'm not; I'm simply… using my resources." He said coyly.

I groaned and put my head in my hands. Why me? I thought.

I closed my eyes and tried to think of a happier time in my life. _This morning wasn't so bad. _My mind yelled out. Suddenly I got a goofy grin on my face.

_I slammed my hand down on my alarm clock, shutting off the irritating beeping sound. My hand slid off the clock and onto something leathery. I opened my right eye and saw Zuko's drawing pad under my hand. I jumped out of bed and ran into the bathroom to quickly get ready for the day. I through on some skinny jeans and a graphic tee (both from the store Delia's) and ran a comb through my long wavy brown hair. I grabbed the pad and raced out my door and to the art wing. Zuko was already there when I arrived, talking with Mr. Westcott. _

"_Hey guys!" I said happily._

"_Hey Katara!" Mr. Westcott said before pulling a pack of gum out of his pocket. He offered us a piece and I took one. Happily chomping on the Doublemint I had just been handed. _

"_Hey," Zuko's silky voice said. I grinned and gave him back his book. _

"_Mr. Westcott to the office please, we have a package for you." The office woman said over the intercom._

_He sighed and walked out the room. Then he turned back. "Don't break anything please."_

_I grinned and waved as he left, while Zuko chuckled softly. _

"_They were amazing! I didn't know you could put so much... __**passion**__ into a drawing. I mean the one of the old man making tea was sooo good. It's my favorite actually. I also liked the one of your family on Christmas." _

_Zuko's mouth opened then shut. "You-you really liked them?"_

"_I said yes and rambled for a while didn't I?" I said happily. He still looked a little in shock, so I pulled his hand and said his name. _

_Suddenly he pulled me into a hug; wrapping his arms around me, making me feel warm and safe. _

_Then just as sudden as it happened it stopped. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"_

"_No, its okay." I said quickly. __**More than okay. Feel free to do that more often. **_

"_It's just that my dad doesn't exactly care too much about my drawings, he would rather I 'Follow in the family's footsteps' and 'Make a living for myself'."_

"_Screw him," I accidently said out loud. "Ohmigosh I'm so sorry,"_

_Zuko burst out laughing and shook his head. "You don't know how many times I've wanted to say that to him."_

"Katara!" Aang yelled before shaking my shoulders.

"Wha-What?"

"The bell for next class rang come on!" he said.

"Oh," I said sheepishly. We just finished our gym class and were heading to sports practice; which meant I was headed to the Tennis courts. I personally didn't see the point of having gym and then going to practice but then again our school is really weird.

I was walking with my head down when I ran into a tall, lean body. I instantly knew it wasn't Zuko's because he had A LOT of muscles while this kid was kinda scrawny.

"Hey watch-Hello. My name is Jet and who might this angel be?" the boy said. He just looked like trouble and something told me he was a player.

"Not interested." I said before side stepping him.

"Don't worry babe," he called out as I walked away. "They always come back!"

"Hey, K, you ready for class?" Zuko asked before placing his arm around my shoulder.

"Yeah, I've been looking for you! Bye Jet!" I said before walking off with Zuko. We walked for a while before I realized that his arm was still around my shoulders. Whispers followed Zuko and me as we made our way to the tennis courts.

"Wait? You aren't in tennis with me. Why are you going this way?" I asked my voice aloof.

"Well, I didn't need anymore creeps talking to my friend and making her feel uncomfortable… so I decided that I will walk you to class. Plus I have a study hall next with Jackman as the teacher and we all know he doesn't care."

I smiled, it was true. Jackman was the most laid back teacher in the entire school and didn't care how late you were or if you skipped his study hall.

"Why thanks so much. I don't know what I would do if I had to talk to the jerk Ket or whatever his name was." I said disgustedly.

Zuko chuckled and smiled down at me. "Yeah, believe me you don't want to get mixed up with him."

"I will take your word for it." I said as we arrived to the tennis courts. We stood there for a few seconds.

"Ha… so umm I will see you in lunch. Bye Zuko!" I said quickly as I raced towards the tennis courts. I quickly changed my clothes and pulled my hair into a high ponytail. Ty Lee stood in the corner talking with a tall muscular kid while twirling a piece of her hair. He smiled stupidly and nodded. She kissed him lightly on the cheek and walked away.

"Hey Katara! Can I practice with you today?"

"S-sure why not." I said nervously. She was Azula's best friend and my new enemy… so why was she being nice to me?

We started playing and soon it turned into a heated match that neither of us wanted to stop. The bell rang for class to end and I slammed it back over the net and right past Ty Lee's racket for a final score of 30-15.

We both approached the net with tired breathes, "Good match!" she said with genuine excitement.

I smiled. "You are really good though! How long have you been playing?" I said as we walked to the locker rooms.

"Well since I could walk basically. I have 7 sisters and we all look a lot alike so we each found one sport that we really liked that made us different from each other. I realized that I loved tennis and gymnastics." She said as she opened her locker. "What about you?"

"Well, my dad is in the army loves playing it. One day when he was back from training new recruits he taught me the basics. I was about 5 or 6 at the time. He left to fight in the war 5 years ago and it's just my way of keeping him with me."

"Whoa that must be hard on your family."

"Yeah my brother has really matured since dad left. He wants to be ready incase anything ever happens. I hate knowing that something could possibly happen though."

"Don't worry, if I know anything about people, I know that everything will be okay in time… and just for the record I think you are a cook kid but Azula will literally find a way to hurt you if she knows I'm talking to you. So be careful."

I nodded and tied the laces on my Converse. She slipped on her Prada heels and smiled as she walked out.

I grabbed my purse and walked out and headed to Spanish. Jet was standing near one of the many trees that lined the path chewing on a toothpick.

"Hey babe, I told you they always come back." He said while moving closer to me.

"Leave me alone."

"Or what your precious little boyfriend is gonna come to protect you? I don't think that will happen seeing as how he is in the hospital."

ZUKO! "Why? What happened? Did you try something?" I said while bending the water from the grass and making an ice dagger.

"No, he went to talk to his dad during study hall and then he was in the hospital. I promise that I what happened."

I sighed and dropped the dagger. "Do you have a car?"

"Yeah but I can only use it on the weekends." He said still eyeing the patch of dead brown grass.

"Well you look like you have broken rules before." I said coyly.

"Damn right."

"One thing, if I'm going to ride in a car with you, you seriously aren't going to curse." I said while pulling more water from the grass and letting it lazily float around me.

"Yeah, okay. Let's go."

As I followed him to his car I prayed no one would see me. He led me to a red BMW convertible and unlocked it. Suddenly it clicked, Jet was rich and got everything he wanted, no wonder he thought I would just fall over him.

As we drove, way over the speed limit I might add, I prayed silently that Zuko would be okay and that he just got something minimal like a concussion.

_It's worse than you could imagine, _the little voice in my head said. I sighed and leaned my head back. Suddenly the hospital came into view and Jet parked at the visitors spot. I rushed in and asked where Zuko was at.

"He is in surgery." A woman my height said. I turned to face her. It had to be his mom, she looked just the woman from his drawing and he looked exactly like her.

"What happened? Will he be okay?"

"I pray so, he was burned extremely bad and was alone for a few minutes before his sister came in and saw him. Whatever he looks like changed her. She is crueler now than she has ever been."

I groaned. "Great and she already doesn't like me."

"What could someone like you do to her? No offense but I mean you look to nice to do something to Azula."

"I have no idea. I'm Katara by the way."

"Ursa Black"

"He will pull through whatever is wrong, I know this because your son is something different and that's what is going to help him."

"If anyone is something different it's you, you should be in school and you are here sitting with a crying mother. "

"He means too much to me." I said before pulling my hair out of the pony tail and running my hands through my hair. "Way to much," I whispered.


	4. Pain

.com/watch?v=0FliJaluIqg&feature=related this video is soooo amazing and I thought you guys should see it. So please check it out. It's a Zutara to the song "Chemicals React' by Aly and Aj

Also if you want to know anything about the story and you would like to know it at that moment my twitter is dreamer821518 I check it all the time. I will also be giving updates and such.

I'm sooooooo sorry I didn't have it up when I said I was going to. I had exams last week and basketball practice and my crush and I have been texting A LOT more lately, so I've been kinda busy. Thanks to all who are reading this. I love all of you guys and I hope you will stick with me to the very end, when ever that may be.

Also you guys might hate me for what I'm going to do but it needs to happen for the relationship with Katara and Ursa

On with the chapter!

I sat in the uncomfortable plastic chair for what seemed like days. Mrs. Black sat beside me, wringing her hands and wiping away tears.

I glanced at the clock. It was 5:55. School had been over for 3 hours and I missed my last class. I stood up and walked over the receptionist and asked her if she had any information on Zuko.

"I'm sorry miss, nothing right now. Although I know that he should be out of surgery soon. This type of surgery is normally 5 hours long and you have been here for about 4. That's all I know. I'm sorry though."

I rubbed my arms, "Thanks," I said gently. I walked back to my seat and sat down. The door flew open and Sokka, Aang, Suki, and Toph burst in. Sokka rushed forward and pulled me into a massive hug. I hugged him back and sat down in the chair again.

"Who is here for Zuko Black?" a deep voice asked.

I let got of Sokka and whipped around, a tall man with dark brown skin stood in the doorway with a tired look on his face.

"All of us sir."

"Very well, follow me." He said before turning and walking away. We all scurried after him trying to catch up to him. He led us down a few different hallways until we reached room number 245.

"Only two people are allowed in at a time." The doctor said before turning and walking away.

"Go ahead Kat, you know him the best out of all us kids." Sokka said before making some comment about being hungry.

I opened the door and stood to the side as Mrs. Black went in. She stood by his bedside and rubbed his hand. I sat in the ugly chair in the corner and smiled softly at the words she whispered to her son. He moved a little in his sleep and sighed softly, the noise filling the room and giving a little more hope that he would be okay.

Ursa bent down and gave him a kiss of the right side of his face. A small sob escaped her and she quickly left the room. I stood up and briskly walked over to him only to stop in my tracks when I saw how much gauze was wrapped over the left side of his face.

"Oh Zuko," I said softly. "What did he do to you?"

I sat down on his bed next to his legs and watched him sleep. I stared at the gauze and just knew that he would have a very bad scar. I grabbed his hand and gently rubbed it. The rough skin of his hands felt wonderful under the softness of mine. I sat there holding and rubbing his hand for about 10 minutes when there was a knock on the door. I turned around and was met with a piercing golden gaze.

Zuko's father stood there, his eyes moving up and down my body. "What is a gorgeous woman like you doing spending your time with that piece of trash? You need a real man." He said while moving closer to me. "Like myself."

I quickly bended the water in the flower vase and threw it in his face. Then I grabbed my bag and raced out of the room.

"Don't worry Katara, I know where you sleep. I own the school remember?" he said as I turned the corner and raced to the stairs. I ran into Ursa on my way down and almost knocked her over.

"Oh my gosh, I'm sorry about that!" I exclaimed as I sat down next to her. "Sorry I was trying to get away from… Mr. Black. He scares me." I said softly.

"What did he do to you? Did he hurt you? Let me see your wrists!" She said quickly. She checked my wrists from hand marks and then pulled me into a hug.

"He made a move of me and the I bended water into his face and ran out the room and into you." I said while hugging her back.

"Look, my brother in law, or previous brother in law is in charge of dorms at the school. He is the exact opposite of Ozai and can get you a single in the co-ed dorms. That way you won't have to worry if your roommate locked the door or whatever."

"Thank you." I said before standing up. Ursa stood with me and asked me how Zuko was doing.

"He looked so peaceful in his sleep. Gosh, I can't imagine how he will feel when he wakes up. Hopefully that was pain medicine in the IV bag."

"I hope so too. Oh my poor baby."

I walked back to the sitting room with Ursa and sat down in the same chair I was in before the doctor came out. My phone started playing "Eye of the Tiger", which was Sokka's ringtone. I was about to hit ignore, but something told me to answer it.

"Hello," I whispered.

"Where are you?" he said quickly, his voice thick with tears.

"In the hospital still, why are you crying?"

"M-mom was in an accident and the ambulance is on its way to the scene."

"How bad was it? Was Gran-Gran with her? Is she going to be okay?"

"We don't know yet. I'm trying to get past the crowd to see mom. I will call you back when I get to her."

I sat there, my phone clutched tightly in my hands.

"Eye of the Tiger" started to play again. I answered and walked over to the window.

"K-ka-Katara, mom i-is gone. S-she di-" He choked and took a deep breath. "She was gone before they could load her in the ambulance."

I stared out the window, listening as Sokka said that he and Aang were on their way to the hospital to pick me up. His voice soon became white noise as I felt my body accept the news.

I no longer had a mother.

I hung up on him and sat there quietly, staring at my phone.

"Katara, what happened?" a voice asked softly. I just stared out the window and saw the wind blow the leaves on a tree. I felt myself sway as if I were the one of the leaves on the tree. I swayed again and saw the ceiling fading farther and farther away from me. I felt the jarring impact of the ground on my head, and the snap of my wrist under me.

I heard the screams of Ursa as she called for help, I felt a nurse check my pulse and a doctor gently move my broken wrist. A bright light was aimed in my eyes but I didn't blink or try to shut it out.

"Try to stay with us, okay." The doctor said, his voice sounded as if he were underwater and he were yelling to me.

I closed my eyes and ignored him. I felt the darkness sweep over me and pull me into oblivion.

**(ZUKO'S POV)**

The memory of the fire hitting my face was painful enough, so the medicine they are pumping through my body is doing little to ease the searing heat that is going across the left side of my face. My SOB father just made a move on Katara and I'm not even lucid enough to defend her. The medicine isn't helping with the pain, but it is making me loopy. My eyes weren't open but I knew that my father was still in the room.

"Hello son, you are a little stronger that I thought. I expected you to die from the burn. Don't worry though, next time you _dare _defy me I will make sure that you die."

I felt him slap my face and mumble something about "too much Ursa in him".

The door opened and shut, only to open again.

"Hi there, I know you must be in pain so I'm just going to give you some stronger medicine. It will also help you sleep." Said what had to have been a nurse.

I heard fumbling and then a soft 'sleep well'. The fire that was normally in my veins disappeared as a comfortable, calm feeling replaced it. I did as the nurse said and went to sleep.


End file.
